Takeaways from Miami’s 78-65 win over Georgetown

Defense and physicality. Those are Jai Lucas’ coaching hallmarks, and they were on full display in Miami’s 78-65 win over Georgetown on Friday night in the third-place game of the ESPN Events Invitational.

Led by four steals by junior guard Tru Washington, the Hurricanes played suffocating defense all game long. The Hoyas shot 35.6% from the field and 26.9% from deep. They also turned the ball over 11 times, which led to 18 UM points.

“[This win] is huge for us. Just because it gives us confidence knowing that we could do it … and win these types of games,” Lucas said. “[Georgetown is] a really good team. They had a tough night. I think we helped with that with how we guarded, especially in the first half. I’m just proud of my guys.”

Offensively, Miami shot much better from both the free throw line and from beyond the arc than it did in Thursday’s loss to BYU. The Hurricanes were selective but extremely efficient on their triples, nailing six of their 10 attempts. From the charity stripe, Miami was 12-of-16.

Here are three takeaways from the Hurricanes’ first Power Five win this season. They’ll have a chance to grab their second in their next game on Tuesday against Ole Miss.

Reneau leads scoring punch

Senior forward Malik Reneau was on fire to start the game, scoring nine early points to give Miami an initial 13-2 lead. Reneau ended the first half with 19 and the game with a team-high 23 points.

He also made all three of his attempts from deep. As the Hurricanes don’t have many high-volume shooters, it would be a huge plus if Reneau continues shooting the outside shot well.

As a team, Miami shot 58.8% from the field. It dominated near the basket to the tune of 32 paint points.

While he only scored two points, big man Ernest Udeh Jr. made a large impact offensively. By setting several Gortat screens, which are basically a legal loophole in basketball that allows players to set moving screens, Udeh created points at the rim for his teammates.

Dovrat emerges as potential shooter off the bench

As mentioned previously, Miami’s roster lacks shooters. There’s no getting around that.

But one player that we’ve been monitoring as a potential shooter for the team has been junior Noam Dovrat.

The veteran guard, who previously played professional basketball in Israel, knocked down both of his three-point attempts and shot the ball with confidence. He has a lightning-quick release, and his shot mechanics are smooth off the catch.

“Noam did a good job of just being ready,” Lucas said. “Him and [Timotej Malovec] are guys that can stretch the floor, and I need to find some minutes for them.”

If Dovrat continues shooting like he did against the Hoyas, he’ll carve out more playing time and fill a huge need for the Hurricanes.

Areas to clean up

Miami largely played really well, but there are still weak areas that need fine-tuning ahead of ACC play.

The Hurricanes run a scramble-style defense that aims to fluster opposing offenses and create turnovers. The downside with playing this way is that because defenders are often out of position or running around when a shot goes up, the team is at risk of giving up a large number of offensive rebounds. This is what happened against Georgetown, as Miami allowed the Hoyas to grab 17 offensive rebounds, which led to 23 second-chance points.

Also, as Georgetown attempted to make a comeback, it entered into its full-court press. Against this full-court pressure, Miami played with hesitance and committed several turnovers. This sloppy play led to a 16-4 Hoyas scoring run down the stretch.

While these mistakes didn’t cost the Hurricanes the game, they will have to work on boxing out and breaking the full-court press moving forward.